Bully Ray Points to Miscommunication as Cause of Botched WWE SmackDown women’s Title Finish
Wrestling personality Bully Ray has identified miscommunication as the primary factor in the controversial finish to the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship match at SummerSlam 2025 between Tiffany Stratton and Jade Cargill.The botched conclusion, which involved a delayed kick-out by Cargill and subsequent confusion with the referee, has sparked debate among fans and industry observers.
The incident occurred after Stratton secured a pinfall victory over Cargill, but the referee’s count appeared to be mishandled, leading to a prolonged and unclear finish. ray, speaking on Busted Open Radio, highlighted the referee’s initial responsibility to count to three and questioned why Nia Jax, who was at ringside, engaged in a conversation with the official after the count. This exchange, Ray argued, exacerbated the confusion and was particularly noticeable given the prevalence of high-definition cameras.
“Nia didn’t kick,” Ray stated. “In that situation, the referee’s responsibility is to count to three.now, we go past that. This is what the most puzzling part of the match is. I can deal with mistakes… it’s gonna happen,it can happen to anybody. What I don’t understand is why Nia decides to have a conversation with the referee.” He further noted, “There’s obviously miscommunication there.I don’t think I’ve ever seen blatant [mis]communication like I saw there… You have to be a little bit more aware, especially in 2025 with high definition-cameras and cameras all over the place, that that conversation is being picked up.”
Ray speculated that the intended finish involved Stratton stealing a victory over Cargill to generate heat, suggesting a simpler alternative spot – Stratton tossing Cargill from the ring before the pin – would have been less prone to timing errors. He expressed concern about relying on Stratton’s relative inexperience to execute a precise dropkick at a critical moment. “I don’t know if I would rely on Tiffany to have that split-second timing to hit that [dropkick] just as the three-count is starting,” he said.
